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Fragile or Agile

It’s fascinating partnering with an European financial organisation based in Belgium, who are currently transforming their business model using Agile methodology. The recently appointed CEO rolled-out Agile in a previous life and, by all accounts, it took several attempts to get it working successfully.

From the outset, Church International was invited to participate in the adoption of the new Agile method of working with the technical teams we provide to the Bank, which is a huge testimony to our five-year partnership. And to make the transformation successful thinking ‘Agile’ has become as much part of our DNA as it has theirs.

The biggest challenge for everyone involved is adopting different working practices. Not everyone adapts well to change and our role has been primarily around helping the bank handle people’s resistance and concerns. It’s a delicate job managing the expectations of how the real and perceived changes will affect them as individuals. The teams we have built and embedded into the Bank have been hugely stable over the five-year relationship to date, and the only disruption I can remember were floor moves when the office got redesigned… so no big deal in the scheme of things.

So why introduce Agile and as a consequence, why risk upsetting the very sturdy apple cart?

Looking from the outside, I considered the main issue with the old ways of working were primarily around process inefficiency and the inherent time taken to do even the most routine tasks. A typical example; it’s been quicker turning around the Titanic than getting new starter access rights etc.

Curtains open and introduce the new star turn – Agile; the saviour with unlimited auto route options to navigate you through the process minefield, take away the stigma of old school management and replace with thought leaders and visionaries, doing away with the project, process and planning obstacles incorporating, the all-important, true collaborative working.

Agile doesn’t have time for heavy processed dietary planning, a rule of thumb is never to consume too much of anything processed right? Agile is well-balanced mind approach: think healthy and lean whenever you need to confirm you are taking the right approach and take advice from peers as you go along.

Not waiting around for ‘The decision maker to decide’ has to be more productive and delivering before deadlines has got to be a good outcome? Surely your food order arriving before the anticipated deadline will feel good and make you want to repeat the experience.

For recruiters, this requires us to learn a new lean vocabulary to be down with the Agile kids and understanding and implementing the mechanics of Agile to improve our own service offerings and ensure enhanced delivery.

Agile presents an interesting opportunity for recruiters to move away from the siloed technical departments and open relationships through cross-functional collaboration. And that has to be a bonus. Agile for recruiters makes us think differently and provides the ideal platform for re-engagement. There’s no doubt Agile can benefit all.

I’m no Scrum Master, Chapter Lead or Product Owner; I am more of a Talent Engineer who focuses on delivering great technical teams equipped to deal with working in both the old and brave new worlds. If you’re interested in working in collaboration with Europe’s leading Talent Engineer to build your technical tribe/chapter/squad/guild (or team, if you are not an Agile convert… yet) and sprint toward a common goal, please do get in touch.